It was pretty much a foregone conclusion by most baseball fans but an attention-getter nonetheless:
This from MLB Trade Rumors:
“MLB contract records were shattered Sunday evening, as the Mets reached an agreement on a stunning 15-year, $765MM deal with free agent superstar Juan Soto, according to a report from The New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal contains no deferred money and includes escalators that can push the contract beyond $800MM. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal includes a whopping $75MM signing bonus, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Soto’s deal contains an opt-out after his age-30 2029 season. Jorge Castillo of ESPN notes that the Mets will have the opportunity to void that opt-out by adding an additional $4MM per year to the final ten years of his deal, which would allow the deal to max out at $805MM over 15 years.”
* * *
So, what does Soto going to the Mets mean for extremely popular (now) free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who the Dodgers have held off re-signing in the event that they needed a spot on their 40-man roster had they won the Juan Soto sweepstakes? According to ESPN’s Alden González, perhaps nothing:
As González notes in his December 8 tweet, the Dodgers signed 31-year-old outfielder Michael Conforto to a lofty one-year / $17 million contract on Sunday, thereby making Teo expendable. Hopefully, this is not the case.
Pull the trigger, Andrew.
Play Ball!
* * * * * *